


Present Shopping/Mall Santa

by madetobeworthy



Series: 12 Days of Winterhawk [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 12 Days of Winterhawk, Christmas Fluff, Clint Barton Is a Human Disaster, Deaf Clint Barton, Established Relationship, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 06:52:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5575603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madetobeworthy/pseuds/madetobeworthy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate helps Clint pick out some Christmas presents, and teaches him an important lesson about his relationship with Bucky through pictures with the Mall Santa. </p>
<p>[[Days 5 and 6]]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Present Shopping/Mall Santa

**Author's Note:**

> This is late. Hella late. I had a not so great Christmas. I'm working on getting everything done by new years, which is proving difficult when my brain is like HEY WRITE THIS INSTEAD. But I'm getting there!
> 
> Combined two prompts for this. It was initially going to be 2 chapters, and I may still add a second chapter later on, but I'm focusing on finishing all the prompts first.
> 
> This one is more Kate and Clint with a brief appearance of Bucky at the end. The next prompt will more than make up for that I hope.

Clint knew he was cutting it close waiting until a week before Christmas to do his shopping. Why did the holidays have to be so damn hectic? Okay, part of it was his own laziness, and he had to own up to that. What with the staying in bed all day a few days ago, dicking around with Steve for a few hours before taking Bucky skating. Tony’s stupid celebrity skate-a-thon thing or whatever he was calling it.

 

_That_ had been stressful on everyone. But at least the general public hadn’t made an ass out of Clint and people actually _did_ want to skate with Bucky. He and Steve had shared a look of relief when Bucky got out on the ice. Bucky wasn’t even allowed to be mean to his skating partner since it had been a little girl. She couldn’t have been older than five or six and Clint was 100% sure Tony had made sure a child was the one who won the raffle to skate with him.

 

By the time Clint had dragged himself out of bed this morning, Bucky was already gone. There was a note tucked into Lucky’s collar saying he was out with Steve. At least he was pretty sure that’s what it had said; by the time he’d found it Lucky had chewed half of it up.

 

As he puttered around the apartment, making some coffee, making sure Lucky’s food bowl was full, debating about where he needed to go and what he needed to get, he made sure to text Kate. Her present he’d already bought back in August when he’d been down in Louisiana so she was his only safe bet to go shopping with. Plus she was a little more insightful when it came to presents. He could get something for her and Natasha and Bucky, maybe Steve if he stuck strictly to art supplies, but he was never sure what to get anyone else. Kate was...well, Kate. With her upbringing and good sense of people (something he kind of lacked on the best of days) she always helped him pick out something decent for everyone.

 

His phone blinked at him, signaling a reply from Kate, before the coffee was even done brewing. Of course Kate was already up. And on her way over. Clint sighed, typing out a quick response before dropping his phone down on the counter again and moving to grab a mug out of the cupboard. Bucky was kind of really picky about the whole drinking out of the carafe thing. Not that he should be allowed to comment since his coffee always tasted like a particularly strong blend of battery acid. 

 

Okay that was a bit of an overstatement, he’d gotten better at it. 

 

Coffee now in hand, Clint headed back upstairs to get dressed. He’d only made it to the top of the stairs when Kate walked in. His only clue to her being there was Lucky finally getting out of bed to rush downstairs to greet her. Some days Clint regretted giving her a key, but she usually announced when she was coming over. Mostly because she’d walked in on Clint and Bucky on the couch in a rather compromising position. His nose crinkled at the memory and shook it out of his head as he turned to look down at Kate who was obviously talking to him while she pet the dog who was dancing around her feet.

 

“Hang on Kate, I just got up. My ears aren’t in yet.” He waved a hand at her in a ‘go sit down and let me be’ gesture before turning to head to his room.

 

He was sure Kate had something snarky to say in reply, but right now he was more concerned with his coffee and putting on pants. Mostly the coffee.

 

He groaned to himself as he looked through the closet. Neither he or Bucky had done laundry in a while, his clothing options were limited. He sorted through assorted shirts, most of them ripped from battles or too small from his gain in muscle mass since Bucky started harassing him into the gym all the time.

 

Finally he settled on a pair of jeans that were worn threadbare but still fit and one of Bucky's shirts that was a tad too big, hanging low around his neck and as bit long on his arms, but at least it was clean. Grabbing his aids off the nightstand he popped them in as he headed back downstairs.

 

“Can you hear me now?”

 

“You could lose the sarcasm, Kate.” Clint grumbled from behind his coffee mug. She grinned at him and got an eye roll in return.

 

“So, Christmas shopping?”

 

“Remind me why I can't just buy gift cards or shop online?”

 

“What gift card are you going to get Tony Stark?” Kate asked, raising one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows. Clint couldn't argue with that point. “Besides, I want to see the mall Santa.”

 

Clint snorted into his coffee at that. “Mall Santa?”

 

“Yes. This year Hawkeyes are having a Santa photo.”

 

Clint groaned again. 

 

\---

 

When Kate set her mind to something there was no getting out of it. Of course he knew he was in no position to bitch about it, she had agreed to help him shop for presents. 

 

The mall was busy. It came as no surprise to Clint, but it was annoying. At a certain point his hearing aids turned from help to hindrance. With so many voices, the music in the background, and Kate trying to talk to him every ten seconds, it all just jumbled together to a dull roar in his ear. He nodded when he thought it was appropriate, making non-committal noises when needed. He was pretty sure Kate was just talking for the sake of talking at this point and didn't care what his responses were.

 

He finally had to stop, finding a bench to put his bags down and reaching out for Kate.

 

“Wait up.” He said, grabbing her shoulder, “Can’t hear for shit.”

 

Kate stopped, giving him a sympathetic look as he plucked his hearing aids out and made sure they were turned off before he stuffed them in his pocket.

 

“I don’t think that’s good for them.” Kate huffed, signing along as she spoke and rolling her eyes at him.

 

He shrugged in reply, “You got somewhere better to put them?”

 

She shook her head, which earned her a ‘then shut up’ look as Clint picked up his bags again. With her helping it had been a breeze to buy for everyone. 

 

For Natasha, a black and white sweater dress as well as a rather pricey necklace from Pandora’s that Kate insisted she _needed_. Tony got some mini RV sets that he would no doubt take apart and build _better_. Bruce got some cardigans, mostly black and dark blue but one was a colour that Kate called neon and Clint called radioactive; he wasn’t sure if he’d take the green as a good joke or he’d hate it, but Bruce usually laughed at his jokes so he felt safe with it. Thor got a prepaid Visa giftcard, enough to take Jane out for a fancy date at a nice restaurant, as well as a few movie vouchers. Kate was adamant that even though Jane was a science nerd, she deserved a nice night out and Thor wasn’t exactly rolling in ‘Midgardian moolah, Clint’ to quote her exact words. Steve’s present Clint had picked out himself, a gift card for the fancy arts and crafts store. He had wanted to buy him a fancy set of paint brushes, but Steve wasn’t always forthcoming about his art and Clint wasn’t sure what mediums he was most comfortable in, so he hoped this would be okay. Sam got a collection of 70’s Jazz-Funk on vinyl. Kate had said it dated both of them but Clint knew he’d like it. The twins each got a Nintendo 3DS and a game for each. Kate rolled her eyes at the racing game he picked for Pietro, but CLint thought it was hilarious. The hardest two to buy for were Rhodey and Vision. Clint didn’t know either of them very well, and Kate had only met Rhodey once. And what could you get for an Android?

 

After some debate, Rhodey got a set of RV’s similar to what Tony did (“He’s an _actual_ rocket scientist, Katie-Kate. He likes his toys as much as Tony, he’ll love these I’m sure!”). Neither of them knew what to get Vision still, but Clint kind of wanted to go back for the Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots. Kate thought it was a terrible idea and in really poor taste, Clint thought Vision would appreciate the irony. He was just a new version of JARVIS, after all, and the AI had always been willing to banter with Clint for a bit. As of the exact moment he hadn’t got anything for him yet, but he was really thinking about it.

 

All that was left was the present for Bucky. Vision’s lack of present yet aside, Clint didn’t know what to get for Bucky at all. Nothing seemed right, nothing seemed good enough. Kate had tried to pick out a few things but everything seemed superficial to him. It was really starting to bother him.

 

“Kate, I still don’t know what to get for Bucky.” He huffed, bumping her shoulder with his to make sure she was paying attention to him. She looked at him, said something, aggressively rolled her eyes at him when she remembered he’d just taken his aids out, and struggled to adjust her hold on her bags so she could sign at him.

 

“We’re getting a Santa picture.” She said to punctuate her signs. She wasn’t the best at signing, especially not while trying to carry around bags. But Clint could lip read and they had their own shorthand set up to make it easier on both of them.

 

“That doesn’t help me with a present for Bucky.”

 

Kate grumbled under her breath at him, turning to herd him towards another bench so they could put down their bags and talk. Once her hands were free, Kate shoved Clint down on the bench so he’d pay proper attention.

 

“The Santa picture _is_ the present for Bucky, dumbass.” She said, her posture screaming a ‘ _duh_ ’ tone at him, “You really are the worst at people, aren’t you? You’re living with a man who was frozen off and on for 70 years! You think he’s got any pictures for himself that weren’t in his old files or hanging up in some sort of Captain America display? It doesn’t take a Tony Stark to know that he’s going to outlive you, by a lot. And that is probably the most depressing thing I’ve ever said and I almost regret it. But even you have picture books from your childhood with your brother and your mom and even the circus. You have pictures of the team and of Lucky and us hanging out. Bucky doesn’t have any. This is the best present you could ever get him.”

 

Clint stared at Kate in silent shock for a moment. He’d never even considered that before, and now he was kind of ashamed that he hadn’t. But this is why he had Kate, wasn’t it? Or at least one of the endless list of reasons. She always knew how to smack the sense into him and see the things closest to him. That always was his biggest downfall. Sure he bragged about ‘seeing better from a distance’ but that was only worth bragging about in the field. At home...

 

And this is why Kate was as much Hawkeye as he was.

 

“Thanks, Hawkeye.”

 

“You’re welcome, Hawkeye. Now pick up these bags, stop freaking out, and let's go get a Santa picture.”

 

\---

 

It was well after dark by the time Clint got home. Not that that was too hard in the winter, but he still had stayed out much later than intended. Kate had dropped him off and drove off without even bothering helping him bring his stuff inside. Rude. But she had said something about the weather not staying too nice and wanting to get home. He hadn’t bothered putting his hearing aids back in so he’d missed it anyway.

 

It was a bit of a struggle but he managed to get inside without dropping anything. He only just barely got to put his things down by the door before Lucky came bounding in and jumped up for attention.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Hi Lucky. Get down. Down!” He huffed, shoving the dog away so he could get more than two steps into the loft.

 

“There you are, I was wondering if you were planning on getting home before the blizzard.” Bucky said, coming down the stairs. He wouldn’t admit that he was getting a little worried and was ready to head out in search of Clint. He hadn’t answered his calls earlier.

 

“What? Lizard?” Clint asked, frowning at Bucky.

 

Well, that would be why he didn’t answer his phone.

 

“Where are your hearing aids?” He asked, pointing to his ears. He wasn’t really proficient in sign language yet, and Clint was putting of teaching him. Probably out of sheer stubbornness. 

 

Clint swore and dug into his pocket, pulling out his hearing aids. Flicking them on he put them back on. “What about a lizard?”

 

“Blizzard, Clint. There’s a weather warning.”

 

“Oh. Guess that’s why Kate took off then.” Clint hummed, shucking off his jacket and haphazardly throwing it on the coat rack. “Would have been home sooner but I had to go back for a present that Kate didn’t want me to buy for Vision. I don’t care what she says, he’s gonna love it.”

 

Bucky just shrugged, eyeing all the bags Clint had come in with.

 

“Don’t you think you got a little much?”

 

“I don’t know. Kate picked most of it. Including your present. So I hope you like it.”

 

“Oh, what is it?” Bucky asked, moving a little closer and trying to peek in the bags.

 

“Nope, that’s for Christmas.” Clint said, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him back. “No peeking. I’m serious.”

 

“Fine, fine.” Bucky put his hands up and backed off. “No peeking. I promise.”

 

“Good. Now come help me get the shovels and sidewalk salt from the basement. Might as well have it handy if there’s going to be a blizzard.”

 

“I regret ever moving in here.”

“Oh, shut up.” Clint snorted, “You love it here.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr.](http://helterskelterxo.tumblr.com) You know, if you want to watch me have melt downs about all the fics I'll never write. Also I just like making friends with all the other winterhawk trash babies tbh.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are love, as always!


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